Tim Burton to shoot 3-D Alice in Wonderland

Director hooks up with Disney for two-movie deal

Director Tim Burton has signed a deal with Walt Disney Studios to produce two 3-D films, kicking off with a version of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.

The film will, Variety explains, combine "performance-capture imagery" - currently wowing the crowd in Beowulf - and live-action footage. Linda Wolverton of The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast fame is penning the screenplay.

The second production will be Frankenweenie, based on Burton's 1984 short film about "a pet dog brought back to life by his loyal owner". It'll be a stop-motion animation production, shown in digital 3-D.

Alice in Wonderland is slated to go into production early next year, wrapping in May. Burton is currently putting the finishing touches to Sweeney Todd at Paramount and Dreamworks. ®